1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein are related to an electric power converter. The electric power converter is also sometimes referred to as an electric power conditioner.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of the electric power converter includes a plurality of combinational circuits. Each combinational circuit includes a boost chopper and an inverter that are connected in series. The boost chopper boosts DC (Direct-Current) electric power supplied from an overhead wiring via a current collector into a predetermined voltage value. The inverter converts the DC electric power output from the boost chopper into AC (Alternating-Current) electric power. A capacitor that accumulates electric power for contact loss compensation is connected in parallel to the combinational circuits. In addition, a discharge resistor and a discharge contactor are connected in series to form a series circuit, and this series circuit is connected in parallel to the capacitor. The boost choppers include switching devices that are driven simultaneously, and a single boost coil is used in common by the boost choppers to perform a boost operation. This example of the electric power converter is proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2016-127680, for example.
The conventional electric power converter includes a plurality of boost choppers. For this reason, the conventional electric power converter has a complex configuration.